It's been a family affair so far for the U.S. men's hockey team at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics and they'll lean on those bonds as they face Denmark on Saturday.

Let's start with the squad's hockey royalty: forward Brock Nelson. Nelson's grandfather Bill Christian and great uncle Roger Christian won gold together for the U.S. at the 1960 Games and Nelson's uncle, Dave Christian, took home gold in 1980 as part of the legendary "Miracle on Ice" team. Now, the 34-year-old is looking to continue the family tradition.

"The U.S. has never won a gold medal without a member of my family, this is probably going to be my only shot," Nelson told Peter Alexander of NBC News.

So far, he's shown he's not throwing away his shot. Nelson scored twice to lead the U.S. over Latvia 5-1 in the team's first game of the Olympics on Thursday.

"It means the world to have this opportunity, so just super excited to get out there and get it going," Nelson said after the victory.

In addition to the Nelson family ties, the brotherly bonds play a major role on this U.S. team.

Brady and Matthew Tkachuk wasted no time using their sibling strength and opened the scoring in the team's win over Latvia. Matthew dished to Brady to give the U.S. a 1-0 early lead. The hard-nosed bash brothers also bring an immeasurable ability to energize their teammates in the heat of competition. The duo famously landed in the penalty box within the first three seconds of the first 4 Nations game against Canada for starting separate fights. They're chippy, they're incredibly skilled and they get it from their dad, Keith, who was a four-time Olympian for Team USA.

While the other set of brothers, Jack and Quinn Hughes, displayed their playmaking abilities by chipping in two assists each in Thursday's win. The boys' mom, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, is also at the Olympics, as a player development consultant for the women's team.

Aside from the USA Hockey bloodline on this Olympic team, the squad is stacked with NHL talent, and they'll be difficult to match up with from end to end.

In goal, Connor Hellebuyck had 17 saves against Latvia. Ten different players tallied points, and two goals came off the power play for a total team effort. That's how they'll aim to operate throughout the tournament, even as the games continue to get more competitive.

On Friday, the U.S. will go up against a Danish squad with six NHLers, including two Carolina Hurricanes teammates: forward Nikolaj Ehlers and goalie Frederik Andersen. Denmark opened Olympic play with a 3-1 loss to Germany on Thursday.

The U.S. and Denmark face off on Feb. 14. at 3:10 pm ET. Watch it live on NBCOlympics.com and Peacock.